1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a specimen transport system for transporting a specimen by means of a car.
2. Description of the Related Art
A specimen transport system is a known technique in which a specimen, e.g., blood, in containers such as test tubes is transported by means of a car configured to travel between a preceding section and a succeeding section that are spaced apart from each other. This technique obviates the necessity of a transport mechanism that is dedicated to the movement of the specimen. As described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2005-300357, for example, one such specimen transport system is designed so that the specimen is moved between the car and each section by using a transfer device.
The preceding section comprises a holder transport mechanism for transporting the specimen containers for each specimen holder, on the upstream side with respect to its transport direction, and a rack transport mechanism for transporting the specimen containers for each rack that contains a plurality of specimen containers, on the downstream side with respect to the transport direction. Further, the preceding section comprises a container hand transfer device that transfers the specimen containers in the holder transport mechanism to racks of the rack transport mechanism. Furthermore, the preceding section comprises a rack transfer device that lifts the racks from the rack transport mechanism and sets them onto a rack transport mechanism on the car. The succeeding section comprises a rack transport mechanism for transporting the specimen containers for each rack, on the upstream side with respect to its transport direction, and a holder transport mechanism for transporting the specimen containers for each holder, on the downstream side with respect to the transport direction. Further, the succeeding section comprises a rack transfer device that lifts the racks set on the rack transport mechanism on the car and sets them onto its succeeding rack transport mechanism. Furthermore, the succeeding section comprises a container hand transfer device that successively draws out the specimen containers, a predetermined number at a time, from the racks on the rack transport mechanism and transfers them to the holder transport mechanism. This rack transfer device moves the racks from the preceding section to the car and from the car to the succeeding section.
Since the specimen transport system described above uses the rack transfer device for rack movement, however, the configurations of its components are complicated. Further, operation for rack movement such as to lift and move the racks one after another by the rack transfer device is complicated and time-consuming.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a specimen transport system of a simple configuration in which operation for moving racks between a car and a preceding or succeeding section can be simplified to ensure shorter operating time.